See No Evil
by Raiast
Summary: Ginny is in an accident and consequently blinded. Draco seems to know more about it than he should...
1. Prologue

It was as before. It was as if Ginny was lying in bed, in a half-asleep, half-awake limbo where everything floated and misted over. Her mind was trying to pick everything over and decipher what was happening and what wasn't, what was dream and what was reality.

It was then that it would happen to her. Ginny's floating limbo would crumble around her, and she would realize with a sickening jolt to her stomach that she was falling, tumbling through space at an alarming rate. It was then that she would jerk awake, aggravated that the tantalizing sleep she longed for kept jumping out of her grasp. She would, eventually, fall back into the limbo, only to repeat the same feeling: the sickening twist her stomach made, and her terrified heart pumping blood and adrenaline through her veins, her mind and body falling helplessly towards nothing, such as when coming down on a swing. Except the plunging continued.

She felt that way now, as if she was falling towards nothing, and everything seemed hazy and dreamlike around her.

Until she realized that the dream was reality, the haze was the black, rainy sky, and the nothing towards which she was rapidly tumbling was the cold, unforgiving ground.


	2. Of Broken Eyes and Twisted Ankles

Blackness engulfed Ginny, the deepest blackness she'd ever known. She stirred slightly, blinking her eyes quickly, trying to force them to focus. What had happened?

_I fell_…Ginny recalled. _Something happened and I fell right off my broom…so far…_She felt a lump rise up in her throat. She had fallen _quite _a ways…Her mind felt sluggish and fuzzy, and Ginny heard herself make a small, pitiful whimpering sound.

"Am…am I dead?" She whispered aloud to no one. Her question was answered by a 'we could only hope' to her left, and a 'now really!' to her right.

"Oh come on!" The voice on the left spoke up. "What an idiotic question! _Obviously_ she's not dead; she's in the Hospital Wing for crying out loud. But then, you can't expect much better deducing skills from a _Weasley_, can you?"

"_Sit_ down, boy, for heaven's sake! I won't have you complaining to me that your ankle hurts if you insist on standing on it!" a shrill voice ordered fiercely. "She's been lying out in the rain. Who knows how far she fell?" Pomphrey, as Ginny had _deduced_ the second voice to be, switched her tone to a much lighter and concerned one. "Do you feel alright, darling? How's your head?"

She pushed herself up a bit so she was propped up on her pillow. She was about to answer that it was throbbing and fuzzy, when she realized two horrid things:

One, Malfoy was here to witness her pain; two, the most terrifying, she couldn't see him. Panic flooded through her entire body, reaching out to the tips of her fingers and toes and wrenching her heart and stomach, finally settling in her throat where she choked out: "I-I can't see!"

"As I said, her deducing skills—" Malfoy was cut off by Pomphrey's soothing voice.

"Calm down now, just calm…how far did you fall?"

"I…don't know…_very_ far."

"Do you recall how you landed?"

"No I…I just remember feeling like I was dreaming…headfirst I guess, because I was diving to the ground…"

"You must have landed just right and…oh my…" Ginny felt the skin around her eyes pull open and heard a muttered spell from Pomphrey.

She must have been checking her pupils because she muttered, "Completely dilated…that's not normal…"

"Neither is my not being able to see!" Ginny threw at her furiously. Ginny was blind and all Pomphrey could say was that her eyes weren't _normal_?

"Now really, just lay back down there and rest, I must speak with Severus," she bustled off without explanation, leaving Ginny to throw herself back down hotly.

Out of habit, Ginny rubbed her eyes and, realizing that it did nothing to help her vision, gave a frustrated growl.

"What were you doing flying in the rain at _night_, anyways?"

She had almost forgotten that Malfoy was there. _Almost_. "None of your business!" Ginny spat in his direction.

She heard a bed squeaking and Malfoy shuffling towards her. She didn't realize how close he was to her until he spoke again.

"Whoa…your eyes are completely _black_. That's so freaky."

"Not the _only _freak around here," Ginny muttered.

"What's that, Weasley?"

Ginny closed her eyes and turned on her side away from him. "Aren't you supposed to be _sitting_?"

"It doesn't matter _that_ much," by the tone in his voice she figured that the statement had a shrug attached to it, something Ginny wouldn't have witnessed anyways, since she wasn't facing him.

"Pomphrey seems to think so."

"Shut up, Weasley."

"Hey, you're the one that struck up this lovely, little conversation so don't _you _tell _me _to shut up!" Ginny launched herself into a sitting position, only to fall right back down as she collided with something rather hard. He must have been leaning over her. She hated that she couldn't see where her enemy was. It terrified her.

"Ouch! Watch it! Oh…wait…ha, I guess you can't, can you?" he sneered to her, and Ginny could just picture the smug, sinister smirk that was forming over his lips.

"You're a jerk," she informed him, a small whimper escaping her lips. "Ugh…" she moaned. "I think I might puke."

"That's repulsive."

"Ha! Like you've never."

"I haven't," he said blankly.

"What?" Ginny knew that if her eyes weren't blank and distant they would be filled with incredulity. "Whatever! That's not possible. _Everyone_ pukes."

"Not us Malfoys. We're naturally immune to everything," he informed her of this as if it were something to be proud of.

"How ironic," Ginny heard herself sneering uncharacteristically. "Considering that so few are immune to _you_."

"_SIT DOWN_!" Pomphrey made it obvious that it _did _matter that Malfoy was standing.

Ginny heard him muttering indistinctly and limping back to his bed, and thought she heard the phrase 'bloody nazi' leave his lips at one point.

"Now, you, what did you do?"

Ginny opened her mouth to speak when Malfoy beat her to the punch.

"I was walking, in a hurry—"

"So running," Pomphrey interjected.

"Er, yes, that. I was running and I remembered I had to do something else so I tried to change direction too quickly, I guess, and ended up twisting the bloody hell out of this foot."

"How _graceful_," Ginny interjected

"Watch your mouth. Quiet you. A simple twist—" Pomphrey, who seemed almost at her wits end due to their endless bantering, must have done _something_ to Malfoy's foot, for he cried out in pain.

"OUCH!"

"Not sprained I see, well that's lucky. Okay," Pomphrey muttered a spell that Ginny couldn't understand. "Try that then. There we are. Better?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Off you get then. Oh, one moment, if you could."

"What?" Now that he was healed he seemed to have lost all manners. He practically spat the question at her.

"If you could just wait and escort Miss Weasley to her Common Room? I'm quite busy here and—"

"Fine," Ginny could hear in his voice that it wasn't fine at all.

"Now, Miss Weasley. It seems there is a potion that will help you regain your eyesight."

"Oh thank Merlin," Ginny muttered.

"Unfortunately it takes a month to brew."

Ginny felt as if her world were falling once more. A whole month _blinded_. _How_ would she survive that? What about Quidditch? Ginny felt the familiar lump residing in her throat once more and could feel warm tears burning her useless eyes. She willed herself not to cry. "I see," she choked out with the little composure she had left.

"You do?" Malfoy wasn't helping, either.

"Not to worry dear," Pomphrey patted her head in a patronizing way. She could obviously tell that Ginny was more than a little upset about the news. "He's started on it straight away. Now, Mr. Malfoy will escort you to your Common Room then. Up you get," she prattled on as she pulled Ginny to her feet. Ginny felt herself swaying back and forth.

She felt a cool hand wrap around her wrist far tighter than necessary, tugging her forcefully into motion.

"You're hurting my wrist," Ginny hissed once she heard the large doors to the Hospital Wing shut behind them. "Let _go_."

"Fine," and he did, and Ginny stood still for a moment, before walking forward. She hadn't taken three steps when she ran into something and began to fall forward.

"Geeze, Weasley, be careful! You'd hate to end up blind _and _with a concussion," he scolded her as he caught her in his arms and hauled her to a standing position once again. She knew it had been his foot conveniently residing in her path. "Still want to try it alone?"

When Ginny didn't answer him he took her wrist again, less firmly this time, and began to lead her once more.

It felt surreal, walking without counting the stones in the floor, or examining the students passing by—blindly trusting her enemy to lead her safely to her destination, knowing that at any moment she could be "led" right off a moving staircase.

"So what _were_ you doing outside anyhow?" he asked again after a few minutes of tense silence.

"I thought I made it clear that it was none of your business, Malfoy."

"_Was_," he pointed out. "Five minutes ago. How about now?"

"_Is_, then," Ginny corrected herself, "it _is _none of your business."

"You're not very nice to the person you're depending on to get to your quarters. I could leave you stranded anywhere in the castle and you wouldn't know where you were, or how to get back. I could even leave you in the dungeons. That would be fun…I wonder who would find you first…" he trailed off in a contemplating tone that sent shivers down her spine because she knew, were that the case, that no matter who found her the exact same thing would happen.

So she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as if she were pushing out every negative emotion she held and said: "I'm sorry, Malfoy," it sounded sincere enough to Ginny, but Malfoy was tsking her.

"I don't accept apologies wherein those apologizing address me by my surname," he said it all quite fast, and in such a manner that Ginny knew he was only trying to confuse her. She grasped the phrases 'don't accept' and 'my surname', and figured he must be telling her to use his name.

_Not bloody likely!_ Ginny thought fiercely. She remained silent. Malfoy stopped walking.

"Apologize—_correctly_ this time."

Ginny gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She knew they were standing on a staircase. "I'm sorry, _Draco_," she apologized through clenched teeth.

"And once more, for using my surname all these years."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Not at all," Ginny could almost _hear _him smirking.

"I'm sorry, _Draco_."

"For what?"

"Calling you _Malfoy_," she could barely stand to be speaking to him anymore, and were he not the one standing between her and several flights of stairs she would have told him to royally piss off.

"Much better, I think," he chuckled softly as he took her wrist once again and continued on up the steps.

They walked a few more minutes in silence before Ginny's curiosity and utter boredom overtook her. Not being able to witness her surroundings left her with a strange gap that was only able to be filled by conversation.

"You want me to call you Draco, then?" she asked him.

"It would be nice."

Ginny couldn't stop a small smile that captured her lips when she continued. "Is that because you know it completely irks me, or because you think so much of yourself that your ego just needs to hear your name over and over again?"

He gave a short, quiet bark of laughter before answering, "A little bit of both, but mostly I just want to be different."

"Different?" Ginny inquired.

"From my father," he went on.

"From your _father_?" Ginny repeated, perplexed. Draco Malfoy, big bad bully of the school wanted to be different than his _father_, big bad bully of the entire Wizarding World? It was as if someone had told her that two plus two now equals fish: it just didn't compute.

He stopped walking, turning her to face him, his hands clutching her arms and holding her in place. "I'm not my father, alright? You may think that because I look like him I _am _him, but know right now that I'm not, alright?"

"I…don't understand," _Does not compute, DOES NOT COMPUTE_.

"My father," he began to explain, "was captured by a bunch of _teenagers_. He's now in Azkaban because of _Potter_. It's disgraceful. It's something that would have never happened to me."

"So you're saying…"

"I'm better than my father," he stated as if it were something that should be completely obvious to her. "Or at least…I _will_ be."

"So by better you mean…worse, don't you?"

He chuckled again. "Something like that, yeah. We're here."

Ginny shifted her weight uncomfortably. _Worse than Lucius means hell for us all_…she thought miserably. "Erm…thanks then…for guiding me…" she trailed off stupidly and felt herself beginning to blush.

"Ha, it never would have happened if Pomphrey hadn't looped me back in before I was able to make it out the doors," he scoffed at her, as if berating her for thinking that he could do anything so decent as lead a blind person to their home.

"Er…right…"

She waited for his steps to fade before muttering the password and stepping into the portrait hole, groping the walls and nearly falling on her face as she went.


	3. Of History Untold

_Disclaimer_: I DO own the Harry Potter books, but only (unfortunately enough) for my reading pleasure. I did not create, describe, add-on or in any other way help with the making of the characters, plots and settings of the Harry Potter series. I DO own THIS plot, and any plot that stems from it (besides the obvious J.K. plots), but owe MUCH MUCH MUCH of it to my wonderful beta Anya (Thank you, love!).

_Disclaimer_ _the Second_: The thoughts/ideas/happenings of this chapter (concerning the talk about WWII) ARE based on real events, but are otherwise changed/altered/distorted to fit the plot of my story. Adolph Hitler (as far as I know, at least) was NOT a wizard.

On with the story then:

Ginny was promptly lifted to her feet as a pair of long arms wrapped themselves around her torso. "You alright there, Ginny? Say, where have you been?"

Ginny leaned against her supporter and breathed in his masculine scent slowly. "I'm fine Dean. Well…as fine as I _could _be…I've been in the Hospital Wing…there was an accident…"

She heard several chairs being pushed around as their occupants rose and, Ginny presumed, surrounded her.

_It's going to be a long day…_

---Just wait, there's more---

If one thought that taking to blindness quickly was as easy as closing one's eyes and moving about, one was VERY wrong.

Ginny discovered that even the simplest of tasks, such as pulling a fresh robe from her wardrobe, challenged her as much as rummaging through a pile of hay while searching for a needle—_blindfolded_.

"No, no, sweetie, that's your nightgown," her dorm mate corrected her quickly, pulling the garment from Ginny's hands and replacing it. "Here you are," she handed something else to Ginny and proceeded to try to help Ginny get it on.

"I can do that myself, thanks," Ginny tugged away from her friend's grasp, spitting the words at her bitterly.

She stumbled, literally and otherwise, through the next few days despite the help of Dean and Hermione. Hermione, being by _far _the most helpful, put a spell on all of Ginny's quills so that they took notes by themselves (with amazing accuracy), and taught her a spell to make a book speak its words to her. Dean, it seemed, simply took to carting her around to her classes and making sure she stepped through the portrait hole without falling flat on her face. Ginny's despair grew more and more each passing day, despite the fact that everyone seemed to band together to make things easier for her, except, of course, for those such as Malfoy, who seemed just as eager to do the opposite.

"If it isn't the littlest Weasley…lost, I see. What has you so far down in the dungeons?"

"I'm _where_?" Ginny felt compelled to throw her head around in every direction, trying to decipher where exactly she had made a wrong turn. Her Leader shouldn't have led her to the dungeons if her destination was the library.

"Must I repeat myself? You're in the dungeons, little one. What's that?"

Ginny fiddled with the sphere in her hands, hoping to feel a physical defect since she couldn't very well examine what was wrong with it. "It's a Leader. My mum sent it to me," she answered him reluctantly. Maybe he could help her, if she were nice. It _was _Malfoy, but maybe… "It's supposed to lead me to my destination by speaking the directions and help me to avoid obstacles. Obviously it's broken, if it thinks that the dungeons is the library and couldn't manage to avoid _you_."

"Let me see it," he sighed.

Ginny pulled it towards her protectively, remembering Harry's story about Malfoy and Neville's Remembrall.

"For goodness' sake, Weasley I'm not going to smash it to bits, let me see it!" she felt the sphere leave her hands, and with it all of her assurance and independence.

"Hmm…don't know about any of this stuff…" he handed it back to her. "You're headed to the library?"

Ginny nodded.

"Come on, then," he took her wrist as he had almost a week ago, with the same firm, commanding grip that not only made Ginny feel as if she would arrive to her destination, but also in one piece.

"You're taking me?"

"Don't sound so amazed. I wouldn't, and you know I wouldn't, were I not going there myself."

Ginny wanted to kick herself as she found that she was, once again, dependent on Malfoy to lead her to safety, quite literally this time.

He didn't make conversation with her at all this time, nor did Ginny feel the need to fill the empty space, at least not with _Malfoy's_ companionship, so the walk to the library was very brisk and to the point, as Malfoy usually was.

He deposited her at a table near the back, as she requested, and left her alone. She had scarcely pulled out her Muggle Studies book when he returned.

"The tables are full. I'm sitting here," she heard the chair across from her scrape along the floor as he pulled it back. Ginny shook her head.

"I'm not moving."

"I didn't ask you to, did I?"

She sat there for a moment before opening her book and flipping through the pages at random, feeling for the page that she had dog-eared. When she found it, she muttered the spell to make it talk.

It was just as Professor Binns would have lectured. In fact, part of Ginny suspected that Binns had not always had a cushy job like Hogwarts available to him, and must have spoken for books to earn a few extra galleons.

She listened to it drone on about World War Two for nearly five minutes, only somewhat paying attention, before Malfoy gave an overly exaggerated sigh, slamming his book shut.

"I can't concentrate."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"That book. It's ridiculous. It's not even going over the interesting stuff," Ginny heard the book shut and the voice cut off in mid-word.

"What do you mean?"

"I took Muggle Studies last year. We studied World War Two. It is _way_ more interesting than this old thing suggests."

"How's that, then?" Ginny was skeptical as to what _Malfoy_ had to say.

"First off, this book and everything about it was taken from the muggles, so you _know _that you're only getting half of the story. For instance: This guy? Adolph Hitler? Some big muggle dictator right? Bent on world domination? Wrong, as muggles usually are. Wizard."

"No!" Ginny _actually_ gasped. It was the most scandalous thing she'd heard in awhile. "But all of those muggles! Right under their noses?"

"You bet! See he was really—you might want to take notes on this," Ginny fished out one of her charmed quills and set it to a piece of parchment. "He _was_ really after world domination, uniting not only all of the Wizarding World under his power, but the muggles as well. How do you think he got so much power? He used the Imperious on them."

"And no one suspected?"

"Well, things started getting fishy. This guy was really messed up. Instead of wanting to get rid of the muggles, he decided to get rid of only one race. The Jews, as it was. For some reason he didn't find them quite worthy enough. So when he started getting too much power and whatnot, the Ministry knew that _something_ had to be done, so they sent this fellow, Churchill to take over as Prime Minister."

"Churchill…wasn't he—"

"The Minister of Magic himself, yes. Back in 1940. He took over Britain, trying to get this guy to stop and collecting as many allies as possible. Eventually the States got into it. Years before they had a President who was competent enough, I'll give them that, but when things started to get sticky the American Ministry sent their Minister into power, as president. President Roosevelt, he was. The second Roosevelt they had, if I recall correctly. So all of a sudden, in 1940 when Churchill took over, this big battle between all these countries took on something much more meaningful. All of a sudden it wasn't just a world war—it was a magical war as well."

"So what did he do? Hitler, I mean. He obviously knew that all of these other wizards were coming into power…"

"That he did. And about that time was when things started to unravel for him as well. More countries were rising up against him, and he was starting to lose his grip on those he already controlled, so you know what he started to do?"

"What?" Ginny leaned forward. Malfoy's voice had become hushed, and full of excitement, and Ginny felt enraptured by his every word. She never would have guessed that Malfoy had a passion for something such as this.

"He'd had all these Jews rounded up, didn't he? Working for him in labor camps and whatnot? He ordered them dead. All of them."

Ginny gasped. "But _why_?"

"Who knows? I suspect he knew it was all about to end. He was falling down a hole and bringing down as many as he could with him. Got about five or six million, I believe."

"How?" Ginny was perplexed. "How so fast?"

"Oh, they had a number of ways. Things as clever as tricking a bunch of them into the showers and poisoning them with gas, or as simple as lining them up along the edge of a hole and taking a gun to their head."

Ginny cringed, scrunching up her nose. "How could those people _do _that to them? To the families and children and _babies_?"

"You're forgetting that most of them were under the Imperious. Hell, when put on trial many of the Nazis, that's what they called Hitler's followers," he explained to Ginny's cocked head. "When put on trial a lot of them had a bit of a breakdown…they saw pictures of what they'd done, and the survivors of the death camps and just completely lost it. They really weren't aware of what they were doing. And see, with muggles they can't lie about things like that to get out of getting into trouble, because no one knew that that was an option. You know, if muggles would only look a little closer they would see proof of our kind all over the place. For another thing: after 1945, when everything fell apart, Hitler disappeared off the face of the map. Muggles have been searching for years for his burial place, convinced that he had killed himself with some poison called cyanide. It was really just a look-alike. I suppose Churchill took care of that so the muggles wouldn't wonder what happened to Hitler when he disappeared for his trial. I think the muggles _did _catch on a bit though…they knew that _some_ things just didn't add up…and they're right, aren't they? Searching around all over Europe for his remains, when all they have to do is look at the graves outside of Azkaban."

"That's…absolutely fascinating," Ginny informed him, quite unnecessarily she realized, since he had just given her about seven years of muggle/magical history from memory.

"Isn't it?" she wasn't aware how glad Malfoy was that she couldn't see him grinning. "That's not even the best, though. _I_ don't think so, at least."

"There's _more_?" Ginny leaned forward still, trying to soak in everything Malfoy had to tell her.

"By _far_. See, we talked about the muggles in the war, and us in the war…we didn't even _touch_ what effect this had on civilians!"

"I…I don't understand where you're going with this."

"Civilians, right? Just going about their everyday lives…following the war, but fairly certain that the Ministry could handle it. But _some_ people..._one_ at least, followed it closer than anyone else. He scrutinized every action taken that led to power, every command given to followers, every inspirational word of every inspirational speech. He tracked it all, studied it, basically followed it as a religion—and became one of the most feared wizards of all time."

"_No_!" Ginny gasped, actually clasping her hand over her mouth in shock.

"That's right. The Dark Lord himself. What else could you expect? Put two and two together—obviously someone like Adolph Hitler would be the perfect role model for someone looking for power, and lots of it. All he had to do was follow what Hitler did and learn from his mistakes."

"Trying to corrupt Ginny, Malfoy? Or just explaining to her how exactly _you _plan to take over the world?" Ginny knew it to be Hermione, and found herself (surprisingly) wishing that she had just stayed away so she and Malfoy could have continued with their enthralling discussion.

"I have better things to do than to attempt something as mundane as world domination, Granger. No, I was just giving the little Weasel here a history lesson. Think I left anything out? Or weren't you eavesdropping long enough to tell?"

"A rather funny statement from _you_ of all people, Malfoy."

"I would certainly agree with you, Granger, _if_ I actually eavesdropped, that is."

"You don't think you do?" Ginny could sense a long-winded argument coming about and it seemed Malfoy did as well, for he didn't answer her question, but turned his attention to Ginny.

"How long does your essay need to be then?"

"Two and a half feet."

"You'll have plenty then…maybe just don't add the last part."

Ginny nodded as she listened to Malfoy scoop up his books and walk away, not bothering to say anymore to Hermione.

Her friend sat down in the now vacant seat and began talking to her about _some_thing or other, but Ginny was far too busy silently dictating to her quill to focus on anything Hermione had to say—her mind still spinning from the riveting things Malfoy had just revealed to her.

_That is to say…Draco_.


	4. Of Inquiries and Avoidances

Ginny awoke as she became aware of footsteps approaching her. She had hardly anytime to do her homework after her detention, and had, consequently, fallen asleep in the library during the attempt.

"Do you make a habit of staying out past your bedtime?" She recognized his voice almost instantly.

"As if you never have," she scoffed, forcing herself not to fall into another coma.

"I'm a prefect, Weasley, and duty calls. Especially when little weasels can't seem to figure out their bedtime."

"Do you expect the time to be engraved on the inside of my eyelids, Malfoy?"

"Draco," he corrected her instantly. "And one would think that you would make more of an effort to follow the rules, especially since breaking them is what got you in this condition in the first place. Now, I don't care that you've been exempt form your patrolling duties. With someone alongside you, you'll have no problem fulfilling your obligations."

"Do you mean to say that I'm obligated to spend time with you just because I fell asleep in the library?"

"I would consider it more of a privilege, little Weasel. And plus, I know that part of you is just _dying_ to do it."

Ginny gave him a sardonic bark of laughter. "Ha! You _would _think that, wouldn't you?"

"Naturally. And even the late hour can't hide your crimson cheeks. Blushing, Weasley?"

Ginny felt herself flush as he pointed this out. Doing her best to not let him get the best of her, she straightened herself. "Well Malfoy, if you're too afraid to withstand the dark hallways by yourself even a _little _while longer, I suppose I _could_ be inclined to acquiesce to your request—out of mere pity, of course," she added quickly.

"Of course."

He led her from the library, deliberating her normal brisk walk to a slow ambling about the castle. Ginny wasn't even sure where they were, but she knew right away that mischief was about when Peeves' familiar cackle graced her ears.

"What do we have here? Two kiddies out past bedtime…_AGAIN_?"

"I beg your pardon?" Ginny was wondering if she'd heard him correctly. From the sound of it, Ginny was sure that Peeves was implying that _both_ of them had been out before. Meaning that Malfoy…

"How very stupid you must be. The last time you were out you both ended up in the Hospital Wing."

"I _beg your pardon_?" Ginny hissed, turning in the direction where she thought Malfoy to be. He gave a soft chuckle before pointing out that she was facing a suit of armor, and not his 'lovely self'.

"What? Keeping secrets? Didn't know that he was outside the other night as well?"

"Go _away_, Peeves," Draco ordered firmly through clenched teeth.

"Fine. I know when I'm not wanted," Peeves gave a mock-sigh. "Perhaps I should inform the caretaker that students have taken to the hallways for their romantic endeavors. Oh Filchie, my love!" Peeves called as he dove through the nearest wall.

"Oh, good job, Malfoy," Ginny congratulated sarcastically.

Malfoy took a firm hold of her shoulders, pulling her closer to him than she had ever been or had wanted to be in her life…until that moment.

"Draco. I said Draco, remember?"

Ginny found herself breathless as she stuttered "Right. Draco. Sorry."

Draco picked up on this easily, giving a soft laugh and asking her, his voice low and inviting: "What's the matter Weasley, too close for comfort? …or not close enough?" he closed the gap between them even more so. Ginny could feel his quick, rhythmic breathing on her ear and cheek. She felt herself going red and was at a loss to prevent it. And what was more; she didn't trust herself to answer his question.

"So you lied about your foot then. That wasn't how you hurt it," she only wanted to change the topic and put space between her and Malfoy's hard body. Was that so much to ask?

Malfoy gave an amused huff and stepped away. Grabbing hold of her wrist, he led her a few feet down the hallway before he paused, noticing how much her pulse had quickened. "Because I'm so sure that you told Pomphrey the entire truth as well."

"It doesn't count as lying if she never really asked. Besides, I imagine that my reason would be far less secretive than yours. What _were_ you doing out there?"

"I was outside on business, none of which concerns you."

"So you _were_ outside then. Did you see me fall?" she noticed the change in the way he gripped her wrist as they continued on.

"I did, as a matter of fact, though I didn't know it was you at the time."

"And you just let random strangers fall to their death without a care in the world?"

"You didn't die," he pointed out. "Although when I found out it was you I _had_ hoped otherwise. I didn't bother to check if you were alive. You looked so peaceful I just assumed it to be true."

"Such compassion," Ginny sneered sarcastically. "Wait a minute! You just _left_ me out there?"

"Doing otherwise would have meant an…interrogation for me as well. What were you doing outside?"

"Nothing that should have sent me plummeting through the sky," Ginny muttered.

"What are you implying?"

"I'm a good flyer, Draco. The rain wasn't that heavy. Something else had to have contributed to my fall. I know you saw something. I can feel it in your grip."

Though her last comment took him somewhat aback, Draco had a response whipped up within seconds, as was his Heaven-sent talent. "So perceptive. At least _you _seem to think so. It's not as if I did see anything. _And_ even if I did, it's not as if I'd tell you anyways…at least, not until you tell me what you were doing out there."

Ginny sighed, recognizing defeat. They could dance in circles all night, she knew, but they would always end up in the same position: Malfoy pressing Ginny for information. And, it seemed, Ginny wasn't prepared to dance all night, for her resolve was already slipping. "If you _must_ know…I was flying."

"_Really_?" he sounded astounded. "Fell from a broom while _flying_, did you? I _never_ would have guessed _that_ one."

Ginny, finding her face growing hot once more, continued reluctantly despite her stupid answer. "It calms me to fly. I like to do it when I'm upset."

"Oh? And what was it that had our little Weasel all in a huff anyways?"

Ginny hadn't even noticed that they had stopped walking. "I suppose _you_ already know that my brother's gone missing."

She felt him shrug, as he was still clutching her wrist. "Hadn't heard, actually," he'd sounded passive enough, but now that they were on the subject Ginny felt that she wanted nothing more than to pick a fight with him.

"What the matter Draco? Not keeping you well informed these days?"

"Again, I find that none of your business. So you had just found out about your brother then? Thought a nice cool ride in the rain would calm your nerves?"

It was Ginny's turn to shrug. She really _didn't_ know why she'd decided to go out. "I was hoping for anything I guess. Of course, what I _got_…"

"Well, you _did _look quite peaceful."

"Looks aren't everything, now are they?"

"No, but they _do_ count for something," Ginny felt him growing closer to her once again. Not wanting to appear weak and passive, Ginny stood her ground as he advanced on her.

"So I've answered your question then. Now you answer mine. Did you see something?"

"Well…see? Not really. The rain was blinding my eyes. Actually I was having difficulty recognizing shapes," she knew that he was playing around _something_, but for some reason Ginny couldn't seem to be able to connect the dots.

"But you _did_ see me. We already went over that."

"But I didn't _recognize_ you. We already went over _that_," he was closer now, even more than before, and Ginny found it hard to keep her feet glued to the ground and her knees locked when his tone chest was brushing against her, almost forcing her back, and his addictive scent was doing its best to turn her legs to jelly.

"Yes…yes I suppose we did."

"Then we're right back where we started, aren't we?" she could feel his breath on her face once again, and could sense that his lips were only inches from her own.

"Wh-where's that?" Ginny breathed, trying her hardest not to give in and fall back…or was it falling _forward_ that would be giving in? And if that were the case, wasn't it falling forward that Ginny was trying to stop herself from doing anyways? Ginny contemplated this in her head before being drawn back to him by his smooth voice answering her question.

"Right back where we started," he whispered again. His voice was husky and his breath came in heavy, short bursts. "Your Common Room."

His hand slid down her wrist to her hand, where it lingered momentarily before he pulled away and stepped back. He didn't say another word to her, but left her standing before the portrait of the Fat Lady, completely ignoring the painting's string of questions as she mumbled the password and stepped in slowly, holding her hand over her racing heart the entire way up to her room.


	5. Of Gracelessness and Sexy Encounters

_Thud_. Ginny's cheek was met by the cold, hard stone of the dungeon floor.

"And _that's_ what happens when I stick my foot out," he explained casually, as if teaching a lesson to his sniggering cronies.

"You know, _Draco_, you really should watch where you stick your foot." Ginny pushed herself into a sitting position. "You never know when somebody might miss and make you look like a fool…not that it would be much of a stretch," she added as an afterthought.

Draco Malfoy responded to this with another laugh. "Correct as you are, Weasley, I think it's safe to say that that person will never be you."

She felt herself flush. He was right on that one. _Though_, Ginny realized after a second, _every time I've tripped it's been because I'm blind so…_Ginny forced a gracious smile on her face. "Right you are Malfoy, as always. So _insightful_…at least, Professor Woodland seems to think so."

"What's that, O ye whose face is against the floor?"

"For being so insightful, you hide it so well." She felt a tad odd, just sitting there conversing with Malfoy, his cronies surrounding her and the contents of her book bag strewn across the hallway. She decided to tick him off anyway she could. "I never _did _get to thank you for your utterly spontaneous _assistance_. Your interpretation of the muggle war was far more useful than anything I could have found in the library."

Malfoy responded to this with a violent kick to one of Ginny's textbooks.

"_Expelliarmus_," a deep, raspy voice bellowed behind her, followed by the shuffling of feet and voices that she recognized to be the Trio's. They must have just rounded the corner when the Slytherin disarmed them.

_How are_ they _so early to Potions_? Ginny wondered absently.

"I know mathematics isn't your strong suit, Ronald, but I would hope that you can count." Hermione's intense voice carried over to her. If she were trying to whisper, she was failing. "Seven Slytherins and four Gryffindors, one of which is blind and two of which don't have wands!"

"We've still got your wand!" Ron announced. Ginny must have heard a small struggle between the two, because Ron's voice sounded again. "_Stupefy_!"

"_Protego_!" a cold voice said from behind her. It was Snape. "Attacking my students, Weasley?"

"They disarmed us first! _And_ they've been messing with Ginny!"

Ginny, who had tried to subtly grope for her belongings, paused upon hearing her name, knowing that many eyes were now focused on her.

"Is that true, Miss Weasley?"

"Erm…" Ginny pictured Ron being locked away in Azkaban for pummeling Malfoy to death for tripping his blind sister. She pictured Draco catching her alone in some deserted corridor, as he always managed to do, pinning her against the wall and using all sorts of curses on her for ratting on him and for some reason, she felt the need to cover up for him. "Not—not exactly, sir. It's true, he _was _kind of bothering me, but he did that when I wasn't blind, too. I tripped," she forced out a small twitter of laughter, bashing on herself even more. "I'm graceless," she explained.

"Nott give the presumptuous twits their wands back. Malfoy, gather her things and help her up, won't you."

"Yes, sir," he answered, but didn't move for a moment. He'd been waiting for Snape to leave. He first stooped around her and scooped up her books, dumping them in her bag before taking her wrist and pulling her up. He didn't let go when she was standing, but tugged her closer, practically burying his face in her hair.

"We'll be talking later," he growled threateningly.

"Will we?" Ginny was unshaken by his tone. "See you then, then. Well…_hear_ you," she turned and walked away, wishing to Merlin that she had never taken so long to get out of the Potions classroom.

---Being blind would suck---

Ginny had been taught a lot of things in her life. Things such as not playing around with cutting knives, not sneaking out of the house at two in the morning when she was grounded, and not lying outright to her parents.

She'd also been taught a lot about people. How to calm them down, how to scare them into silence (that one came directly from her mother), and how to judge them before knowing them. Everyone says you aren't supposed to do the latter, but in some cases it's a good thing to do. Like, for instance, with Malfoys.

She'd been told that Draco Malfoy was a horrible person. He was cruel, and spiteful, and incredibly annoying. She agreed with all of them. There were some things that she learned about him, however, that she never thought to be true. Being blind had caused her to witness these things in him. Things like he _can_ be nice, if he really feels like it or is forced to, and that he is very smart about many diverse topics. She even learned that he was deep enough to have a passion about something—_he_ had taught her that one though, probably not on purpose.

And now he was teaching her something else about himself. Something else that Ginny never could have thought to be true. Standing there, pinned to the wall by his cold hand, his anger practically suffocating her, Ginny learned that Malfoy was also very honest. He hadn't lied when he'd said they'd be talking later; he _had_ left out that it was going to be painful on Ginny's part, though.

"How _dare_ you bring that up in front of my friends," he hissed in her ear. Ginny knew his hand was going to leave a bruise.

"Just thought you'd like to be appreciated. Your help was much appreciated."

He swung her around, away from the wall, and just when Ginny had her balance, lost it again as she fell to the ground.

Her hand covered her stinging cheek. She stared over in his direction blankly, in shock.

_That_ was where she'd underestimated him. _That_ was where it was wrong to automatically categorize people. Ginny, despite her opinion of him, had _never_ thought he'd be low enough to strike a girl out of pure anger.

She felt him crouching in front of her. She flinched away from his hand that was now examining her cheek. He cursed softly. He lifted her chin, probably inspecting the bruises that were already forming on her neck. "You can't do that to me. You can't single me out in a crowd like that."

Ginny turned her face away from him as his hand tried to stroke her cheek once more. "I'll remember that for next time."

In spite of her best efforts, Malfoy's hands now cupped her face, his own just inches away.

Ginny tried to back away, but his grip tightened slightly. "Please release me." She didn't like being so defenseless and _close_ to him, not before then and _definitely_ not after he had just hit her. It made her feel weak, and vulnerable…and impious.

She heard a low chuckle as he leaned even closer to her. "Don't be like that."

She tried to move again, to no avail. "Be like what?"

Closer still he moved and Ginny was sure that it was _the_ possible closest he could come before kissing her. "Act like you don't like it."

"I _don't_ like it."

His whispered reply nearly sent chills down her spine. "Yes you do." And he _did_ move closer, until his lips were softly pressed against hers; enough to call it a kiss, but barely present. "You like it because it's me, and you like me."

"Wrong again, Malfoy. I do _not_ like being closer than five feet from you, and I can barely stand you as it is."

"Mmm," the noise sounded long, drawn out, and he was murmuring against her lips. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Draco'?" And he was kissing her again before she could think up a smart reply, and she was almost shocked to find that she was kissing him back.

Almost.

---Being blind and with Malfoy would _not_ suck---

Two weeks of subtly pushing himself on her. Two weeks of feeling like she was being stalked by him; that he showed up whenever she was alone and helpless could _not_ have been mere coincidence.

Two weeks of playing around with her head, showing her slight signs of affection and then pulling them away, being helpful and hurtful all at once, pinning her against walls and invading her nose with that delicious scent he had.

Two weeks of forcing her to want him and now she did.

And now she was kissing him.

And now he was pulling away.

And now he was chuckling, and whispering a healing spell.

And now he was standing.

And now he was leaving her, sitting in the middle of the corridor, lips still slightly open, eyes still closed, stomach still twisting, heart still pounding, mind still racing; furiously berating herself mentally that she hadn't thought to push him away.

---Hell, I'd give in too---

He'd followed her, slyly of course, for two weeks. He'd pounced upon her whenever she was alone, and flirted lightly and always left her wanting more of him.

Two weeks of moving in on her, pushing himself closer and closer every time they were alone. Two weeks of testing his boundaries and limits.

Two weeks of work almost shattered with his temper. He'd been stupid to hit her. Especially when he was so close to breaking her.

And then, seeing his effect on her slipping away slowly, he'd plunged on, whispering softly and kissing her, unyielding to her pleas for him to leave her.

He'd kissed her, and she'd kissed him back after a moment; and Draco wondered absently if it would have taken longer to break her if she wasn't blind.

He walked away, after healing the bruises forming around her neck, smirking, congratulating himself on a job well done and a nearly impossible mission accomplished.

So why was part of him still back in the corridor with her?

---Uh oh, that wasn't part of the plan I don't think---

"Ginny?" Ginny looked up, though it was pointless for two reasons: she couldn't see who had addressed her, and she already knew that it had been Harry.

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk, for a bit?"

Ginny nodded, fumbling around with the still droning textbook. Harry reached over and closed it smoothly. Ginny wasn't sure if she was grateful or annoyed by his action.

"It's about earlier today."

"Oh?"

"When you were coming out of Potions? You…Gin, I know you didn't trip."

Ginny nodded. "I _did_ trip."

"Okay, yeah, maybe you did. But it wasn't because of you."

"What's the point of this, Harry?"

"Why are you covering up for Malfoy?"

"What?"

"_I'm_ not blind, Ginny. I saw the look on his face. He was expecting you to rat him to Snape." _I'm _not blind. _I'm _not blind and you are. Ergo, _I'm_ smarter than you. _That_ was what Harry was really saying.

"First off, Snape wouldn't have done anything, even if I had. And secondly, there was nothing to rat."

"Then explain why all his accomplices looked so confused when you spoke."

"Maybe they thought I was blind _and_ mute."

"Ginny."

Ginny sighed. "Harry, there's nothing to hide. Nothing happened, okay? I tripped and Malfoy was giving me a hard time about it. What else do you expect?"

She heard him stand. "I know you're lying."

"Okay," the word was full of sarcasm.

"And I'm going to find out why."

"Sure deal, Harry. If you don't mind, I _do _have a test to study for."

She didn't hear Harry walk away, but she did hear someone approach her from behind. He was standing right behind her chair, his hands resting on the back on it.

"You're a good liar."

_You're a good kisser_.

Ginny froze, her mouth agape and ready to comment back. _I did _not _just think that. Okay, yes, yes I did. And damn it, so what if it's true? It was just a kiss. It didn't mean any…_Ginny's mind trailed off as the pair of hands moved from the back of her chair and up her spine to her shoulders. _Anything…_she finished the thought, but it no longer held the conviction it did from the start.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear. His lips grazed her earlobe and she had to fight the electric shiver that was running throughout her body. "You're a good kisser, too."

Ginny felt herself blushing. Had he just read her thoughts, or was the statement his own? "Think so, do you? You hardly stuck around long enough to find out."

"_Just_ long enough. Did that bother you?" His hands tangled themselves in her hair, twirling small strands and running his fingers through them. She could hear him smirking. "Your hair is very soft."

She wanted to melt away into the seat. Just become part of the chair so that there was nothing there for him to seduce. Despite this desire, however, she also found herself longing to melt backwards into the boy behind her.

_This is Malfoy, and this is wrong_.

"Have you noticed that I want you, little Weasel?"

Ginny gulped and took a slow, deep breath. "I have."

"And you've surely noticed that the feeling is mutual…"

Her eyes drifted shut, cutting out the world she couldn't see. She didn't want to be in the library. She wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere more private. She didn't was this conversation here. She felt as though her head was spinning dizzily, as though she were floating, or drunk. She was slowly becoming intoxicated by Draco Malfoy. She surrendered. "Yes."

"You're giving in to me. I can sense it. I can _hear_ it. You're giving in to a Malfoy. Do you realize how dangerous that is?" he kissed her neck softly.

"Yes."

"Do you care?" he kissed her neck again, and Ginny had to swallow the moan that rose in her throat. _I will _not _give in to _that…_not here._

Her voice came out soft, as a trembling whisper. Ginny realized with a start that she was trembling. "No."

His hands ran across her shoulders and down her arms slowly. They were soft; extremely so. Ginny doubted the boy had ever done a day of work in his life. No worker could _ever_ have hands that soft.

And for the first time in weeks, Ginny Weasley felt as if being blind gave her something. Instead of just hindering her, and making her life more difficult, her blindness had given her heightened senses.

She could smell better. She knew that because she was currently drowning in Malfoy's expensive cologne.

She could hear better as well. This she realized when she noticed that Malfoy's normal, smooth breaths were now ragged, and erratic.

But most of all, the thing that had Ginny frozen in her chair, unable to move from him, was the awareness of Malfoy's hands running along her arms, and the fact that she could feel his rapid pulse hammering right through his fingertips.

"Tell me that you want me," it was a command.

She relinquished without a fight. "I want you. I want you, Draco."

She could feel him smirking against her neck. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow, when we have rounds together."

And he stood.

And he turned.

And he walked away, leaving Ginny flushed and dazed for the second time that day.

---Oh, he is so mean! I wish he would be mean to me…---

Sorry it took so long to get this to you…I kinda took a break and started getting ideas outta my head for my next story. I think it was just the break I needed, actually. Sorry I didn't give this to you before posting it Anya, but I figured they can put up with some grammar errors for this chapter at least.


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